Sterling Equities, Related and New York City Football Club (NYCFC) met again with Community Board 7, unveiling a new set of renderings at their quarterly meeting that outline early proposed visualizations for the Willets Point Revitalization Plan— set to deliver the largest 100 percent affordable housing development in 40 years and New York City’s first-ever 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium. This builds on Mayor Adams’ November announcement unveiling a new vision for Willets Point backed by broad support from local elected officials, union leaders, business community members, and more. The proposal is set to enter ULURP for additional community input later this year.
Queens Development Group’s (QDG) – the Related and Sterling Equities joint-venture – proposed plans to deliver 2,500 units of 100 percent affordable housing anchor a larger neighborhood that will be constructed with pedestrian-friendly, 21st Century urban planning principles. The renderings show active open common areas—providing ample space for sitting, food carts, greenery, exercise, and other recreational uses for the community. Between buildings, residents and visitors will have access to pedestrianized community thoroughfares allowing for family-friendly amenities including small business retail and passive recreation. Additionally, the housing will be centered around a safe, pedestrian-friendly main street populated by additional local retail and other small businesses. The neighborhood will also include over 40,000 square feet of public open space, a 650-seat school, a 250-key hotel, and ground floor retail shops.
The latest update to the community board with draft renderings showed NYCFC’s $780 million, privately financed, 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium— New York City’s first. The stadium will provide a long-overdue home for the 2021 MLS champions and 2022 Campeones Cup victors, and build on over a decade of investment in local communities across the City. It will also provide a permanent home for the Club’s award-winning foundation, City in the Community (CITC), that has built 50 community pitches, served 30,000 NYC youth, and established a strong presence in all five boroughs.
The presentation to the Community Board 7 gives the first look to the local community and others about the Club’s vision to build a stadium that is integrated in the local community to be a resource on non-match days. The new renderings further contextualize the stadium’s five core design principles: creating the best live fan experience in NYC, authentically representing our city, embedding the stadium into the community, building a “future forward” stadium, and modeling sustainability.
